Tap and go travel arrives at Leighton Buzzard and Cheddington train stations

Passengers using Leighton Buzzard and Cheddington stations will be able to use tap-in tap-out ticketing by the end of the year.

Use of bank cards or smart device to tap-in to travel will be made available for tens of thousands of passengers across the South East in a £20million Government boost. Customers will no longer have to worry about planning ahead to get the best prices or fumbling on their phones and wallets to find the right ticket - instead they can use their bank card or smart device to just tap in on the reader knowing they will automatically be guaranteed the best price available on the day of travelling.

Pay As You Go is already available at over 350 stations across London and the south east.

Rail Minister Huw Merriman said: “One of the best ways to get more people using our railways is to make journeys as simple, flexible and convenient as possible and the Government’s programme for rail reform prioritises exactly that.

“By removing the stress of finding the best deal in advance or having the right ticket ready to go at the barriers, the extension of tap-in tap-out ticketing is the next step of our plan for rail reform and we’re working towards Pay As You Go being rolled out beyond the South East through the Midlands and up to the North.”

Pay As You Go is widely used across London and the surrounding area with Transport for London data showing that more than 75 per cent of all Tube and rail pay as you go journeys regularly made using contactless payment cards or mobile devices, compared to 25 per cent in 2016.

The Department is continuing its work with the Great British Railways Transition Team to extend Pay As You Go in the Midlands and the North, as part of Trailblazer devolution deals announced earlier this year with Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.

Transport for Greater Manchester last week announced further details about a pilot scheme to be agreed by the end of this year, subject to final Government agreement and funding, for Manchester’s first contactless payment system on its rail network.

Jacqueline Starr, Chief Executive of the Rail Delivery Group, said: “We have long called for fares to be made easier and more flexible for our customers – our extensive fare consultation in collaboration with the independent passenger watchdog Transport Focus in 2019 overwhelmingly demonstrated the need for modernising rail fares.

“The introduction of contactless, Pay As You Go payments is a significant step in the right direction. It eliminates the need to queue at ticket machines or pre-book paper tickets, allowing passengers to simply tap their contactless cards or devices to pay for their journey. We believe that embracing contactless technology will enhance the overall passenger experience and contribute to a more seamless journey on our network.”

Pay As You Go ticketing will be available at all of these stations by the end of December with individual openings dependent on the amount of existing technology at the stations.